Anniversary

Yesterday my hubby and I celebrated our tenth anniversary. Hubby did all the planning and we had a lovely day together; we toured the Crystal Bridges museum in northwest Arkansas which was the most beautiful art museum I've ever seen. We plan on going again next month when a new exhibit arrives. Then we ate supper at Ruth Criss' steak house. We ate filet and lobster Rockefeller. They were both sublime. The day was leisurely and beautiful. What a memorable day!

It got me to thinking of other anniversaries in our lives and how an ordinary day can become significant to us even if it's not significant to anyone else. For instance, I remember the days I graduated from high school and college, May 28 and May 13 respectively. Our birthdays are anniversaries of our birth. These are fairly major milestones. But I also remember the day my oldest daughter took her first step, the day I fell and broke my ankle, the day I had lasik surgery on my eyes.

What's interesting about these "anniversaries" is how our mind chooses what to remember and what not to remember; how our brain sorts through one event being more important than another. Some are obvious such as weddings, births, deaths. But why does my brain remember two surgeries and not the other surgeries I've had? Is there some specific thing that I'm not even aware of that make some more important than others? Who knows?

What I do know is that anniversaries recall a hinge-point in our lives, where, for one reason or another, our lives are changed irrevocably. It's a literal bend in the road of our lives with no turning back. I've been blessed in my life to have numerous bends in my personal road that have been wonderful and a blessing for me, the birth of my children, my marriage to my hubby, and I celebrate my mom's birthday since a hinge point in her life was marrying my dad and having me.  My graduations gave me the education I needed to advance in my career and each job change has been another hinge point. I love to celebrate these varied anniversaries in small or large ways because in their own unique ways they have helped define who I am.

How many times do each of us forget to take the time to celebrate ourselves? I think it's just as important as celebrating someone else's anniversary. It allows us to stop and think about how far we've come and gives us time to wonder at how far we'll go.

I'd love to know what kinds of anniversaries other people enjoy celebrating; anyone care to share?

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